Vegas Makes Their Annual Big Move

We’re very accustomed to Vegas making a big trade every season at this point.  Surprisingly, we got their big move on Sunday already.  Since they were willing to acquire Rasmus Andersson without a contract extension, the Flames sent him to the desert, acquiring Zach Whitecloud, a first round pick, a second round pick (turns to another first if Vegas wins the Cup), and a prospect that projects to be an AHL’er.  It’s a good return for Calgary, taking advantage of Andersson bouncing back from a dreadful 24-25 season.  For Vegas, the fit is kind of weird to me.  It’s a team that doesn’t even play a forward on their top power play unit, so are they really going to jam Andersson with Theodore on the second unit?  Probably to make him happy, at least with their current injuries, but I don’t see a lot of gain there.  Scoring goals hasn’t been a problem, and Andersson has still been bad defensively.  He should play with Hanifin which maybe helps a bit?  Overall, I think this is a net negative for Andersson’s fantasy value, but I’m still holding him for the time being to see how it looks for the next couple weeks.  For Calgary, Weegar takes over the top power play unit by default.  He’s on the fringe.  Whitecloud could gain some deep league value.  My assumption is he gets a top four role, and with that, some quality hits and blocks.  Let’s take a look at what else happened over the weekend:

Friday’s Games

Brandon Bussi – 15 saves on 16 shots in the 9-1 win over the Panthers.  Yes, you read that right, 9-1.  Bussi’s save percentage is still below average, but the wins and GAA are immaculate.  He’s a bottom end #1 the rest of the way now.

Nikolaj Ehlers – Hat trick and an assist with seven shots.  It’s finally starting to come together for Ehlers, with 13 points in his last ten.  Patience is being rewarded.

Mark Jankowski – Goal and two assists.  And there’s your annual Jankowski update!

Andrei Svechnikov – Goal and an assist with two shots.  And it was even better on Saturday, spoiler alert!  Svechnikov has erased his slow start and is a clear hold everywhere again.

Lucas Raymond – Three assists with two shots.  Great chance for Raymond to get over a point per game finally.  The shot rate keeps him from fantasy superstardom, but Raymond is a clear top 75 player.

James van Riemsdyk – Two assists.  JVR is having a nice surge with top PP time.  He’s up to a middling streamer.

Marco Kasper – Goal and an assist with five shots.  Despite Detroit thriving, Kasper is having one of the most disappointing seasons in the league.  I’m not giving up long term, but I’m out for this season.

Nikita Kucherov – Goal and an assist with three shots.  In eight of his last ten games, Kucherov has at least two points.  Seems decent.

Darren Raddysh – Two assists with six shots.  Raddysh turning into a fantasy monster is an incredible development.  He’s going to get a huge payday from somebody in the summer.

Ryan O’Reilly – Hat trick and an assist with six shots.  RoR went off against his former team, giving them their first regulation loss of the season.  He’s been on sucha  good run that he’s sniffing a point per game.  He’s a bottom end hold, assuming you can stomach RoR’s poor shot rate.

Roman Josi – Three assists with two shots.  It’s been disappointing overall for Josi, but that’s almost been entirely erased with ten points in his last four games.  Do as the Roman does!

Filip Forsberg – Goal and two assists with five shots.  Forsberg also hasn’t been at his best, but he’s still a clear hold.

Brock Nelson – Two goals on four shots.  Massive heater for Nelson, who has ten goals in his last nine games.  Lumping him in with Miller and Trocheck in terms of players who don’t deserve to be on the Olympic teams is unfair to Nelson.  He’s the perfect fourth line center for the USA team.

Beckett Sennecke – Two assists with six shots.  Sennecke played almost 24 minutes in this game and he was fantastic throughout.  Even with Leo Carlsson out 3-5 weeks, Sennecke is making a real case for being held.  He’s on the fringe now.

Joel Armia – Goal and an assist with six shots.  When Armia was drafted by the Sabres, the consensus was that he would be a scoring first winger who wouldn’t round out his game.  Instead, he’s not much of a goal scorer, but is very good defensively.  It’s nice to see him develop his game in a way to stick in the league for over a decade.

Saturday’s Games:

Kirill Kaprizov – Three assists with two shots.  The Wild were missing Matt Boldy (out at least four games), and JEEK, but Kaprizov was great.  I suspect he’s going to get as many minutes as he can handle while the Wild have all these injuries.

Mats Zuccarello – Goal and an assist with four shots playing over 25 minutes.  Big short term bump for Zucc if he’s getting this many minutes.

Vladimir Tarasenko – Goal and an assist with five shots.  Solid streamer while he’s getting a usage boost, including going back on PP1.

Quinn Hughes – Goal and an assist with four shots and two PIM.  He’s been a bit unlucky in the shooting department, but we’re getting the usual Hughes in Minnesota.

Jason Zucker – Two assists with three shots.  Elite streamer with Zucker on PP1.

Ryan McLeod – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Great streak from McLeod, who has nine points in the last six games.  Solid streamer, but man, that shot rate is poor.

Jack Quinn – Goal and an assist with four shots.  You can usually tell within the first five minutes of the game how Quinn is going to perform.  He was fantastic in this game, but he’s still only in the middling streamer range.

Mika Zibanejad – Hat trick on four shots.  Another hat trick for Zibanejad after getting one in the Winter Classic.  He’s on an insane heater right now with 9+8 in his last eight games.

Artemi Panarin – Two goals and an assist with five shots.  The Rangers said they will not be extending Panarin, making him the best trade chip at the deadline.  Can you imagine him on the Lightning?  They can fit him in very easily at 50% retained with Bjorkstrand getting moved out.  Regardless, Panarin will be an elite option no matter where he goes.

J.T. Miller – Two assists, as did Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere.  Trocheck is probably a bottom end hold still, but I’m not holding Miller anymore.  It’s justnot good enough anywhere.

Travis Konecny – Goal and an assist with four shots.  Trevor Zegras and Travis Sanheim also had a goal and an assist.  Zegras continues to have the best season of his career.  Konecny has taken a small step back, but he’s still doing enough to be held.  I don’t really understand Sanheim on Team Canada, but to each their own.  He’s on the fringe in 12’ers, but I lean towards leaving him on the waiver wire.

Matthew Schaefer – Two assists with three shots.  If he was a week older, he wouldn’t even be allowed in the NHL yet, but Schaefer is already a borderline elite defenseman.  Craziness.

Kevin Bahl – Two assists with two shots and two PIM.  Super deep league streamer for hits and blocks, but that’s it.

Adam Klapka – Goal and an assist.  Klapka is a great streamer for hits, with a whopping 170 in 47 games.  Getting to 20 points seems like a stretch, so it’s solely for hits and PIM.

Matty Beniers – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Beniers does have ten points in his last ten games.  He’s a solid to elite streamer while he’s playing well.  Could he finally be turning the corner?

Nate Schmidt – Two goals and two assists with five shots.  Well, that came out of nowhere.  Schmidt is a nice deep league guy because he’s okay enough at every category.  That doesn’t provide much in 12’ers though.

Lawson Crouse – Goal and two assists with four shots.  Crouse has been delivering while on the first line with Schmaltz and Clayton Keller (two assists).  Crouse is an elite streamer, especially in hits leagues.

Vladislav Namestnikov – Two assists with two shots.  Names really has fallen off a cliff this season.  No interest, even in deep leagues.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Goal and two assists.  It’s not the most exciting stat line, but with 31 points in 48 games, OEL is worth holding everywhere.

Morgan Rielly – Two assists with a shot.  Same deal as OEL.

Max Domi – Goal and an assist with five shots, as did Auston Matthews.  Domi has been okay since moving onto the top line with Matthews.  It’s only enough to be a middling streamer.

Sam Bennett – Goal and two assists with five shots and two PIM.  Bennett has been on a massive tear, finally providing the value we expected when we drafted him.

Carter Verhaeghe – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Verhaeghe is on the fringe because his shot rate has fallen off a cliff.  It comes down to team needs.

Sam Reinhart – Two assists with four shots playing over 22 minutes.  Despite all of the injuries around him, Reinhart is still on pace for 42+40.  Tkachuk’s imminent return should only help the Florida power play.

A.J. Greer – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Greer has already set a new career high in points with 19, but he’s only a deep league guy.  Decent in those formats though with great PIM and hits.

Anton Lundell – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Lundell’s stats are eerily similar to Verhaeghe’s.  Same boat of being on the fringe.

Jakob Chychrun – Two goals on three shots, both assisted by John Carlson.  Incredible season from Chychrun, who has been a top five defenseman without any shooting luck.  Great resurgence for Carlson as well.

Sidney Crosby – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Can’t stop, won’t stop.  It’s incredible that the Penguins are fighting for the playoffs when everyone wrote them for dead before the season started.

Cole Caufield – Two goals and an assist with three shots.  Caufield right on a 40+40 pace with three shots per game.  That’ll work.

Lane Hutson – Three assists with two shots.  All your assists are belong to Hutson!

Josh Anderson – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM.  Not at this point in his career.

Juraj Slafkovsky – Two goals.  Slaf really seems to be taking off with Demidov on his wing.  He’s done enough to be a hold in almost all formats despite the very high shooting percentage.

Jake Sanderson – Goal and three assists with three shots.  Sanderson is a bottom end #1 in 12’ers.

Tim Stutzle – Goal and an assist with two shots.  It’s good to see Stutzle’s shot rate back up this season.  Sitting over a point per game, it’s not quite as good as it looked three years ago when Stutzle seemed on a 100+ point trajectory, but he’s damn good as is.

Andrei Svechnikov – Hat trick, all assisted by Sebastian Aho.  See Svechnikov above.

Frederik Andersen – 29 saves on 30 shots in the 4-1 win over the Devils.  Andersen is the 1B to Bussi at this point, mostly because his own level of play has been so poor.  He’s okay streaming because of the fairly high likelihood of a win, but there’s a lot of risk.

Elias Lindholm – Two assists with a shot.  The points are shockingly good with 32 points in 39 games, which puts Lindholm as an elite streamer bare minimum.  The shot rate is rough which makes me keep him as a streamer.

Pavel Zacha – Two assists with three shots.  Middling to solid streamer.

Casey Mittelstadt – Two assists with a shot.  Bottom end streamer.  Call him low end Lindholm.

Mason Lohrei – Two goals on three shots.  The points for Lohrei are decent enough to put him on the fringe, but he’s a step below that because he’s only averaging a shot per game.

Shea Theodore – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Theodore is crushing at even strength, but the lack of power play opportunity knocks him down towards a bottom end #2.

Mitch Marner – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM.  The corner looks to be turned with eleven points in Marner’s last seven games.

Ville Husso – 17 saves on 18 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Kings.  This says more about the state of the Kings right now.  Husso is above a 3.00 and below a .900, so he’s a desperation stream only.

Tristan Jarry – 31 save shutout in the 6-0 win oever the Canucks.  Jarry has been fine for the Oilers so far, and really, that’s all they need.  A .907 has Jarry with a 4-0-1 record.  We’re definitely holding for the upside.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Two assists with a shot.  The shots are rough, but RNH is still sitting right around a point per game, making him a hold.

Jack Roslovic – Two goals on four shots with two PIM.  He’s back on the third line and off PP1, making Roslovic a bottom end streamer.

Kasperi Kapanen – Two goals on three shots.  Kapanen does have seven points in his last eight games, and he’s skating on the second line with Leon Draisaitl in Germany for a family matter.  Even with that, I’m not that interested in Kapanen besides as a bottom end streamer.

Sunday’s Games

Andrei Vasilevskiy – 19 saves on 20 shots in the 4-1 win over the Stars.  And just like that, Vasilevskiy is the #1 overall goalie for the season now.  With how Tampa is rolling, he has a good chance of maintaining that.

Jake Guentzel – Goal and an assist with three shots.  Is there a less talked about elite player than Guentzel?  We’ll certainly be hearing his name come Olympic time.

Dominic James – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Just a fourth liner, but Tampa continues to churn out depth players despite never having high draft picks.  It’s a testament to the team’s scouting.

Drake Batherson – Goal and an assist with two shots.  Clear hold in all formats.  Batherson is having his best season in four years.

Andrew Copp – Two assists with two shots and two PIM.  Copp has been shockingly good offensively for almost two months while centering Kane and Alex DeBrincat (1+1, 7 SOG).  He’s a solid streamer for points, but the shots are quite rough.

Connor Ingram – 27 save shutout in the 5-0 win over the Blues.  Not a bad back to back by the Oilers.  Ingram had one awful start against Boston, but otherwise, he’s been good in every start.  He doesn’t play much, but I’d stream him outside of the worst matchups.

Zach Hyman – Two goals and an assist with four shots.  Hyman is back to the level he was at for a couple seasons before last year.  That’s a top 50 player.

Mattias Ekholm – Two assists with a shot and two PIM.  He’s not stumbling into enough points right now, which keeps Ekholm on the outside of 12’ers.

Connor McDavid – Two assists with four shots.  Excellent chance for McDavid to score over 50 goals for the second time.  Insert superlative here.

Vasily Podkolzin – Goal and an assist with two shots.  He’s currently playing with McDavid and Hyman, but even with that, Pods is a middling streamer at best.

Three Point Challenge:  Because there are a lot of games on Monday, I’m going to give people the option of picking a player on either Monday or Tuesday.  It will be time stamped, but please clarify the matchup you are picking.  For example, the Sabres are playing both days, so don’t just say Tage Thompson with no more info, or I’m not counting your pick. You can’t select McDavid, MacKinnon, Celebrini, Kucherov, Draisaitl, Rantanen, Pastrnak, Necas, Scheifele, Eichel, Connor, or Robertson.  I’m going to go with Hagel on Tuesday against the Sharks.

That’s all for now guys.  MarmosDad will be back on Wednesday, while I’ll be back on Friday.  Just so everyone knows, I plan on updating my hold/stream list for next Monday.  As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below.  Thanks for reading, take care!